Get access to this article and to all of thebmj.com for 14 daysSign up today for a 14 day free trial

Numbers of abortions in the United States, which have been falling since 1981, rose slightly from 19.4 per 1000 women aged 15 to 44 in 2005 to 19.6 in 2008, the non-profit Guttmacher Institute has reported.

The 2008 rate was well below the peak of 29.3 abortions per 1000 women in 1981, but the steady decline in the US rate “appears to have stalled,” the report says. The study was unable to verify claims that the recession has led to a higher number of abortions, because “the small increase in abortion incidence began before the recession,” which started in late 2007.

The US has one of the highest abortion rates in the developed world, said Lawrence Finer, associate director for domestic research at the institute.